


404 Catra not found

by stealyourfood



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Magicatra AU, The au has slain me, angsty hidden pinning, catra purrs, data disc corruption, it's so close to being catradora, magicatra, well well well how the turntables
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24591208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stealyourfood/pseuds/stealyourfood
Summary: Magicatra AU. A look at S2's White Out, but with a role reversal. She-ra Catra, and Evil Horde Adora.I was thinking “hey, what if Magicatra AU during “System failure”? Then I realised introducing Force Captain Adora (not lord yet, right?) would make things better/worse.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 227





	404 Catra not found

**Author's Note:**

> Magicatra AU can be found on Twitter!
> 
> Magicatra Au was developed by @ forestfigment, @ framk_ie and @ gabdlcrz on Twitter. Please check it out for more Evil Horde (hot) Adora and She-ra Catra.
> 
> It's a truly amazing AU that got me thinking how Catra would react to the data disc which corrupted the First One's Tech. 
> 
> Thanks again to Kei for beta-ing.

“So, you’re telling me that the rebellion forces were sighted nearby.”

“Yes, Force Captain Adora.”

Adora’s uninterested gaze had now changed, her eyebrow quirking up. “We’ll subdue them, although the extraction remains a priority. Tighten the patrols.”

“Understood, Force Captain Adora.” The Horde soldier saluted, and left quickly.

Adora hated how cold it was out here in the North. But a mission was a mission. With the mass deployment of Entrapta’s bots, the Horde needed more material. More ore. What had initially been a dreaded, dreary task, was now promising more excitement. Adora’s hands tightened, knuckles turning white, before she took a deep breath.

* * *

“It’s so cold!” Catra growled, holding back a sneeze. Bow had already teased her enough. And for the record, she did NOT have a cute sneeze. It was just a normal sneeze. Period.

“Those weird readings, they were coming from this base.” Glimmer gasped, peering over the rocks. The wind whipped snow straight into Sea Hawk’s eyes, and he yelped before rubbing his face.

“A Horde base.” Catra joined, sniffing. “And they’re definitely up to something. See those drills there?”

“They look familiar.” Bow rubbed his chin. “Entrapta’s inventions.”

“Knowing the Horde, they’re probably mining for more resources to strengthen their army.” Catra’s eyes narrowed. “We can’t waste any more time.”

* * *

“Adora!” Adora sighed at that cheerful voice. Insubordination could be harshly punished, especially with her new rank. Yes, they were both Force Captains, but Adora had obviously gained Hordak’s favour. Second-in-command. Already there were rumours that she would be the new Lord. Lord Adora. Soon.

“Scorpia.” She addressed her colleague coldly. She had no time for this childish prattle.

“So, I was just thinking. We should really hang out. Entrapta, you, me-”

“We are working.” Adora cut her off. “You are a Force Captain. If you have time to ‘hang out’, you can use it to further improve yourself.” She snapped.

Scorpia backed away, bumping into one of Entrapta’s work spaces. 

“Hey!” Entrapta yelled, but did not detach herself from her seat despite the clatter of an object being displaced.

“Sorry!” Scorpia bent down to pick up the fallen box, only for her claws to knock it around like a puck. The item inside spun around , slipping around on the floor, before eventually sliding to a stop right before Adora. A triangular disk, pulsing with an eerie red glow. 

“What’s this?” Adora picked it up, and this time, Entrapta sprung from her seat, making quick strides towards the Force Captain.

“Ahh! That would be a piece of ancient technology. It has the ability to invade any technology and infect it with a virus.”

As she finished her explanation, the noisy drilling stopped. The howl of the wind and the soft smacks of snow pelting on any surface was all they could hear.

“What did that do!” Adora glared at Entrapta. She spun around to access the communication pads. A dark screen showed up.

“Well, that happened the last time too. At least the drills aren’t attacking us like She-ra did.”

“She-ra?” Adora clenched her jaw. How very interesting.

“Yeah. Catra started acting very strangely too. She started purring and-“

“I’m taking this.” Adora gripped the disk in her palm. “and I will not be hearing any objections.” She took one more look at Entrapta and Scorpia, both defeated, subordinate. Just like they should have been. She smiled out of force, a habit she picked up after Catra left. She no longer smiled from happiness. This smile was just like Hordak’s smile. It was one of triumph, of victory.

“We’ll check on the bots.” Adora marched out first. If the rebels were coming for them, they had not a single idea what to expect. She would defeat them, and get Catra back.

This time, for sure.

* * *

Catra grinned as Bow fired the first arrow, a net bursting out from the tip, and trapping a Horde soldier against the wall. That was the signal. Sea Hawk had disappeared, not like Catra cared.

Okay, fine, maybe she cared a bit. Just a bit.

“For Etheria!” Glimmer yelled, charging her hands with magical energy before releasing a blast at the mechanical drills.

That was the goal. Destroy their progress, take them down with no deaths, regroup and return. Yup, that was what they needed Sea Hawk for. Catra had forced him to learn the ropes all over again. There was no way she was moving aboard that horrible vehicle without a proper sailing team. She couldn't wait to be back in Bright Moon, far from this sleet and frigid sea.

“For the honour of Grayskull!” Catra cried out as she slipped the mask onto her head. The familiar rush flooded her, and she embraced the power. Instead of her usual outfit, she wore an outfit reminiscent of a gladiator’s, her hair lengthened. Her muscles felt firmer, her senses sharpened, and her agility enhanced. She grinned, popping out in her transformed self.

She let out a battle cry, rushing to the fray, claws extended, and teeth bared. There was something feral about fighting as She-ra, but it wasn’t uncontrolled. It felt almost natural. She kicked off a rock, landing perfectly on a bot, destroying it with a single kick.

Bursting through the wreckage, and crouched on all fours before pouncing at another bot before it registered her. A sharp, swift stab, and the bot crackled, collapsing.

She breathed in, no longer as cold as before. Heh, one of the perks of being She-ra. She looked around her, noticing that Bow and Glimmer were holding their ground. Great. She could go forward and take out the drill bots.

“Hey, Catra.”

She froze at that voice. Of course Adora was here. It was like they had some inescapable fate. They were destined to meet, like how the rivers eventually meet the lakes and oceans, how the light of the sun was destined to kiss upon the ground, how the moon would greet the nocturnal sky. But that wasn’t them.

If anything, Adora was the Sun, and she was the Moon. They would chase each other in a repetitive cycle, but hardly ever would they meet. And if they did…

“Adora.” Catra growled, looking up. She wasn’t going to be taken away, snatched like some prey. She was herself, her own person. Adora didn’t see that. She only recognised Catra from the Fright Zone, Catra of the Horde. That was over.

If they met, it would be an eclipse, powerful but blinding. Brief, and at times, ominous.

Adora stalked closer, a playful smirk on her lips. At her side, her modified staff sparked with a green light.

“Stop, Adora. This isn’t right.” Catra clenched her fists, taking a defensive stance.

“You’re right. Something is terribly wrong.” Adora charged forward, her staff sweeping down with a crackle of lightning. Catra evaded that quickly with a side step.

“You know what’s not right?” Adora continued her assault, flicking her wrist up and jabbing upwards, causing Catra to flinch and jerk backwards.

“Everything isn’t right. I’m Force Captain, and you’re not here with me.” Adora spun around as Catra leaped over her, somersaulting and crouching down.

“What happened to us against the world, Catra?” Adora jammed her staff into the ground, pushing off and hurling into Catra, feet outstretched.

“Oof!” Catra took the hit, as expected. One wrong step and either of them could tumble down, deep into the mining grounds. She would not tell Adora, but she didn’t have the heart to fling her down. Morals of the rebellion or not, this was Adora!

Adora did not stop, recovering from the impact. She dropped into a low stance, sweeping her foot in a low arch. She snarled as Catra toppled over, head hitting the snow.

“Oh Catra.” Adora hesitated for a moment, before jabbing her with the stun staff. Enough to knock the wind out of Catra, but not long enough to incapacitate her. She straddled Catra, bending over her.

Catra hated that disgusting smile on her face. It was so fake, plastered on. She wanted to rip it off.

“You’re too proud of being She-ra.”

“Wha-” Catra’s eyes widened as Adora pressed the triangular disc onto her forehead. Pain, red, PAIN, PAIN, ANGER, RAGE, EVERYTHING HURT- and she faded away.

“What do you know?” Adora stood up, dusting the snow off her knees. “Entrapta was right.”

“Adora! We’ve got trouble, there was an inspector and he wasn’t-”

Adora scowled, closing her eyes and turning around slowly. “Scorpia. Help me drag this traitor-” the words died in her mouth as she ducked out of instinct. Absurd! There was nothing around except for Catra.

“Catra! Back off!” Scorpia yelled, rushing to Adora’s aid. Entrapta had warned her about this privately. The last time this happened…

Scorpia swiped at Catra, who swerved to one side immediately.

When Catra looked back, to Adora’s horror, her eyes were red. Glaring, furious, and glazed over.

Catra swung her claws wildly, forcing Scorpia to back up.

“How do I stop this?” Adora ordered, her tone cold and firm, not betraying the fear that had been lingering inside of her.

“The mask. We take that out, we stop She-ra.” She winced as she noticed how nonchalant She-ra was, standing on the edge, staring at them quietly.

“Get her attention.” Adora commanded before stepping aside. If this corrupted version of Catra was blind, all she had to do was stay out of sight. “Nearer.”

Scorpia was indeed an obedient colleague, leading Catra towards Adora’s hiding spot. She-ra greatly amplified Catra’s natural abilities, and Scorpia was having difficulty as Catra scratched, hunched down as she swung her hands in alternating slashes.

“A-Adora? Any time now?”

Adora scoffed. Pathetic. But that was enough. She readied her staff, hiding the crackling until Catra’s torso was well in sight. A swift thrust, and the stun did its job. She watched as Catra’s body convulsed, before eventually pulling the staff back, spinning it then slamming one end into the ground beside her. She-ra disappeared, and Catra was back.

Scorpia knew better than to stick around. She saluted and ran off to rejoin the fight.

“Catra…” Adora murmured, tossing her staff aside. Her show was over. It was just her and Catra now. With She-ra stopped, she could – they could return. It was what they had ever wanted. It was upholding justice.

She slipped a hand around Catra’s waist, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt warmth, and the thud of a heartbeat. Another one.

“You’re alive. You’re here.” Adora whispered, and managed to pull Catra into the base, shutting the door behind her. It was a quieter part of the base, cut off from the main area. Reserved for Entrapta and her meddling.

“Wake up, Catra.” Adora brushed the strands of hair covering Catra’s face. Still cradling Catra in her arms, she pressed their foreheads together. “Wake up.”

A loud rumbling broke the moment, and Adora’s head shot back up. What was that? It certainly wasn’t Entrapta’s work. An unnatural screech was heard, high pitched and piercing. It sent chills down Adora’s back, but she wasn’t one to be afraid.

“Lonnie. Report.”

“ _There’s a huge worm! It’s tearing up the drills!”_

“Lonnie, get what we need. And get everyone out.” Adora frowned at the gargantuan monster thrashing about. The screen wasn’t projecting footage of the highest quality, but the sight didn’t bode well. The main drill had been completely destroyed.

“ _Roger, Force Captain._ ”

“Scorpia, get here now.” Adora hissed into the badge, and felt the body she was still holding twitch slightly.

“Catra?”

Catra’s eyes opened, and to Adora’s relief, no more red. The usual heterochromia was a welcome sight.

“Adora?”

Oh no, something was off.

“Heyyyyy Adora.” Catra purred and started rubbing against Adora.

Adora cupped Catra’s face, and the latter leaned in. Huh, she could live with this, couldn’t she? This was nice. Nostalgic, even. The last time they had cuddled -

Catra was purring really loudly, and started wriggling about, tickling Adora.

Then, without warning, she squirmed out before Adora could grab her.

“Catra!”

“Whee!” Catra jumped up, alarmingly off-balance, as she landed on one of the boxes of Entrapta’s materials. “I’m She-ra! I can fly!”

“No you can’t!” Adora shouted, following her. If Catra was unpredictable, this… mockery was even more so.

“Whoops.”

Adora’s heart plummeted as she dove down, catching Catra as she fell off. Her knuckles smarted from the impact, but she picked herself and Catra up.

“What are you doing, Catra!” Adora grabbed Catra’s wrists, pinning her to the wall.

“Hehe Adoraaaa, you’re so meannnn.” Adora bit her lip. This was… this was a disaster. Catra’s purring was not helping. In fact, it was distracting her and she couldn’t think properly. The door slid open, and Adora kept her grip.

“Finally, Scorpia.”

“Think again, Horde scum!” The Princess of Bright Moon fired a shot straight into Adora’s back, and she dropped Catra.

“Whoa, sparkly.” Catra following the dissipating light orbs, trying to catch them.

“Don’t move!” Bow yelled, taking aim directly at Adora, who squatted slowly.

Adora laughed. “You wouldn’t dare. Besides, your She-ra is gone.” Her eyes flashed with mad rage, and Bow’s shoulders slackened.

“What did you do to her!” Glimmer caught Catra, and ignored Catra licking her hair.

“Heheh ewwww you even taste sparkly.”

“It’s the disc.” The door slid open again, three figures rushing in.

“You used that stupid disc on Catra?!” Bow’s arm quivered.

“What are you two doing with a rebel.” Adora reached for her staff. She didn’t really care for an answer. They could face punishment with all the excuses they wanted to dig up.

“Oh he, he’s the inspector.” Entrapta nodded at Sea Hawk. “Wait a minute, now that you mention it…”

A loud crunch tore their attention away. An enraged shriek, and a hard smack right outside the door. The walls shook with new thuds. Something was slamming against the base. Sea Hawk ran towards the rebels, Bow lost his focus, and Adora grabbed her staff, eyes trained on Catra.

“There’s a worm right behind us.” Scorpia breathed out. Adora stepped nearer to her and Entrapta.

“You could have said that earlier.”

“It’s huge! But I could totally take care of not one, but TWO!” Sea Hawk flexed dramatically, and glanced at the tense groups. “What happened to her?” He gestured towards Catra, who was now kneading Glimmer’s back.

Adora bristled with anger. Was this Bright Moon’s brainwashing? Was this some Princess corruption? Catra would never behave like that. She wasn’t seeing Catra now.

“You have to destroy it.” Entrapta was the one who spoke up, looking forlornly at Adora. She seemed to understand something, or well, maybe it was the pain of having eviscerating a piece of technology.

The worm wailed, a horrible, deafening sound. The base would not stand for long. It was not built as a permanent fixture after all. The walls shook, and screws popped out. The hinges creaked, and pillars sagged.

“I won’t get her back either way.” Adora muttered, and dropped the disc. Once again, she paused. She took one look at Catra, so oddly child-like. She wrapped her fingers around her staff. She failed this time.

The tip of the staff met the disc, which was seemingly unyielding at first. Then, a slight clink, and spiderweb cracks spread all around it. It shattered, and Entrapta whined at the loss. The blinding light from the destruction gave Scorpia enough time to exit with Entrapta under her arm.

The worm’s assault had stopped, and they heard it slither away. Some Princess magic again, Adora noted.

“What?” Catra had snapped back to her usual self, confused, disoriented. She was searching for something – maybe the mask?

Then her eyes bore into Adora’s.

That was too much.

Adora tossed the mask, which she had tucked away earlier, on to the floor. Away from her.

“Choose.”

Catra’s darting eyes told her enough, and Adora sighed.

‘ _I’ll get you back next time, I promise._ ’

“See you, Princess.” She sneered out instead, and walked backwards, relishing the look of desperation on Catra’s face as she leaned backwards, tumbling into the cold air.

It was a punishing bite, only for a moment, as she tucked her legs in, landing on the Horde ship’s boarding deck.

“We got what we were here for.” Adora barked out the lie. “We will return to the Fright Zone now.”

The door closed, and she turned back, noticing Catra at the open door of the base. Her hands were empty. 

But it was too late to regret.

The ship shuddered, engines roaring, before it jetted off, and away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hacked/corrupted Adora has big dumb jock energy  
> Catra would have whiny reckless energy
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Stealyourfood)


End file.
